The present invention relates to a mouse-associated Z-axis encoder that may be properly depressed and/or rotated as a mid-key having elastic elements on the mouse to either move or locate a finger post (usually a arrow shown on a screen of a monitor) along a third axis, i.e. the Z-axis coordinate on a computer.
A personal computer is very important in our daily life because it has been widely employed to conveniently process various kinds of information about data exchange, business transaction, and client contact, and do various kinds of complicate works, including word processing, computeraided design, handwriting input, etc. To execute these works on the personal computer, mouse plays a very important role to move and locate the finger post on the computer. For instance, the Windows series products provided by MICROSOFT and the AutoCAD series computer-aided design software provided by AUTODESK all rely on a mouse to move and locate the finger post.
FIG. 11 illustrates a conventional mouse that is mainly used to provide a main frame of a computer with reference signals for moving and locating the finger post along two axes, that is, the X-axis and Y-axis coordinates on a general plane. However, such conventional mouse now fails to satisfy the need of general software designers and computer users. For instance, there are many kinds of software having an environment that requires moving and locating the finger post in a three-dimensional space, such as the above-mentioned AutoCAD series computer-aided design software and many other three-dimensional TV games. Since the conventional mouse can only provide reference signals for moving and locating the finger post along the X and Y axes, it is necessary to use keys on a keyboard or other auxiliary apparatus to simulate or provide reference signals for moving and locating the finger post along a third axis, that is, the Z-axis of a three-dimensional coordinate. To move and/or locate the finger post on a three-dimensional coordinate by operating the keys and/or the auxiliary apparatus is, of course, very inconvenient to users and has poor sensitivity and accuracy. Therefore, it has been a difficult condition in the information industry and many other related industries to move and locate the finger post along a third axis (the Z-axis) coordinate on a computer with the currently available mouse.
It has been tried to incorporate an encoder in the form of a optoelectronic coupler in the conventional mouse shown in FIG. 11 to retrieve reference signals for moving and/or locating the finger post along the Z-axis coordinate. However, this design necessitates wide change in the mechanisms of the conventional mouse and therefore more complicate accessories and circuit design, as well as increased manufacturing cost. Moreover, the conventional Z-axis encoder does not work with keys A1, A2 and A3 or other finger post controlling element originally provided on the conventional mouse. As a matter of fact, there are many difficulties in employing the optoelectronic coupler type encoder to control the finger post via the conventional mouse, and this design is therefore only a product still in the experimental stage and not industrially practical for use.